Sunday, January 07, 2007

Kline Silent About a Surge "For No Particular Reason"

Not long ago, I gave my opinion on George Bush's "surge" strategy for Iraq:

The surge is not driven by military considerations, but political ones. Hundreds if not thousands of our troops will die for it, and our military will be critically weakened for at least a generation. It should be opposed, loudly and repeatedly, by anyone with an ounce of concern for our men and women in uniform or the greater good of our country.

So I'd like to send out kudos to Minnesota reps Ellison, Oberstar, and Walz, and to Senators Klobuchar and Coleman for coming out against the surge. On January 5, MPR made an effort to interview all Minnesota representatives and Senators about Iraq. Peterson and McCollum didn't make an outright statements against a surge, but indicated their belief that a surge could make the situation worse. Jim Ramstad came out in favor of setting benchmarks for withdrawal, but said he wanted to hear Bush's case for a surge before making a decision about it.

That's what all of the adults had to say. What's left are the two clowns.

Michele Bachmann wants to visit Iraq before forming an opinion about what should be done. How did she manage to win an election without having an opinion about Iraq?

Of course the biggest clown of all was none other than our good friend John Kline, the only member of Minnesota's congressional delegation who refused to talk to MPR. A Kline spokesman reportedly told MPR that Kline will "sit this one out for no particular reason".

Yes, our congressman has time to whine and complain about the fact that he's in the minority now, but he can't be bothered to make a statement about the number one issue facing the country. Heckuva job, Klinie.